{"id":153030,"date":"2026-02-12T14:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/153030\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:37:12","slug":"localtopia-returns-to-st-pete-on-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/153030\/","title":{"rendered":"Localtopia returns to St. Pete on Valentine’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Localtopia <\/a>is back in St. Pete this weekend. The annual event celebrates local businesses, community pride, and a whole lot of love.<\/p>\n

Williams Park will transform into a bustling hub of shopping, food, and celebration this weekend as more than 300 local vendors prepare to set up shop for Localtopia.<\/p>\n

The festival highlights the small businesses, artists and makers that help make St. Petersburg so unique. From handmade artwork to food and drinks, the festival is designed to showcase the people and places that make St. Pete special.<\/p>\n

This year, Localtopia falls on Valentine’s Day and the theme is all about love for the community.<\/p>\n

Olga Bof, an event organizer, said, \u201cWe want people to feel that they are loved in this community and they then shower out local businesses with that love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the many vendors setting up shop is Sugar Cream Clay, owned by artist Alli Case.<\/p>\n

For Case, Localtopia represents a full-circle moment. Four years ago, she began selling her colorful mugs and ceramics at the festival, creating each piece out of her basement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just making pottery out of my house and collecting all my things and selling it there,\u201d Case said.<\/p>\n

\"Localtopia<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

Today, she owns a brick-and-mortar shop filled with bright colors, cheerful phrases, and fun designs. Her pottery often features happy faces and flowers, elements she said reflect the mental health journey woven into her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking pottery and putting little happy faces and flowers on things just kind of made it seem a little bit better and you can see the mental health different aspects of my work,\u201d said Case.<\/p>\n

Case said Localtopia continues to be one of her most successful sales days of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of my top selling of my own work that I do. The community is great and it\u2019s just really nice to see OG people coming back and finding you at the same spot,\u201d Case said.<\/p>\n

Olga Bof with Keep St. Petersburg Local said that kind of success story is coming among vendors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community really comes with this local pride, so it\u2019s like a fierce city pride,\u201d said Bof.<\/p>\n

Organizers are encouraging everyone to come out and support local businesses this weekend, but urge visitors to plan when it comes to transportation because parking is expected to be limited in the downtown area.<\/p>\n

The Sunrunner will be fare-free on Saturday, Feb.14.<\/p>\n

The Central Avenue Trolley will be free and a free bike valet will be available at Williams Park.<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Keely

From finding savings to help navigate the price of paradise, to the safety of our roads, and even the latest medical breakthroughs; Keely McCormick is dedicated to helping you get the most out of your day. Share your ideas with Keely below.
.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Florida Sheriff\u2019s claims about immigrant arrests miss key details<\/p>\n

A Florida sheriff’s bold claims about immigrant arrests reveal a more complex picture when court records are examined in detail.<\/p>\n

FL\u2019s Sheriff\u2019s claims about immigrant arrests miss key details<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Localtopia is back in St. Pete this weekend. The annual event celebrates local businesses, community pride, and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[205,634,73832,596,5371,202,204,203,199,201,200,3670,208,5497],"class_list":["post-153030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-abc-action-news","tag-local","tag-localtopia","tag-pinellas-county","tag-shopping","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa-bay-local-news","tag-wfts","tag-williams-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}